Being Sick Sucks

So over the weekend I kinda got really sick with some sort of flu-like bug (probably was the flu, who knows) and that sucked.  Being sick sucks.  So I kinda took my computer time to a more moderate level and played some LotRO with a buddy.  Hence the lack of updates.  Anyway, I like LotRO a lot.  I know some folks complain about the combat, but I do enjoy the different skills and such each class has.

I also enjoy the lore and setting around the game.  That’s the biggest thing for me, is an immersive MMORPG.

Just wanted to put up a small update and will go and finish up my reading for another industry certification examination I have to take tomorrow.  Testing for the win!

Intermezzio

I changed the theme, maybe I am fickle like that.

Anywho, life is busy and work is busy.  Other than continuing my goal of completing one Industry Certification exam per week (for LOMA and AHIP… “industry jargon” if you will), I spend time following different games.  I am currently following several games:

1. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
2. Age of Conan
3. “Copernicus” (the 38 Studios project)

Not much is known about #3, but I can still peruse Blackguard’s blog and site to get a general idea of the opinions of someone who works for the game, same with Moorguard, and frankly, I find myself agreeing with a lot they have to say.  This makes me happy.  As far as #1 and #2 go, #1 is beginning to disappoint me more and more as I see some of the behavior of Mythic devs on the Warhammer Alliance forum.  I’m not going to go through the trouble of linking, but it’s one thing for a CM like Tseric or Naethera on the WoW forums to out someone as ‘trolling’ than  it is to go on a fansite and declare someone a troll just because they may not agree with your decisions, or feel some sort of animosity towards your company for your last product.

Guess what Mr. Jacobs?  Not everyone loved Dark Age of Camelot like you seemed to think they did.  I’m almost… almost tempted to lump you in with Brad McQuaid, but that would be unfair to you right now.  Your game isn’t out right now, all you have are potential customers waiting to spend $50 or more dollars on your product.  Put a smile on that face and put some spin on a negative post or don’t respond at all.

As for Age of Conan — I think they have some novel ideas, but it’s going to become a “try before you buy” experience with me, sadly.

And here I was hoping for some excitement this year.  I guess I should almost start WoW over again (damn, guess I shouldn’t have sold my account.)

Untraceable

So I went and saw this flick last night.  It was pretty good.  It’s also a pretty good commentary about what the Internet is.  For everything good the Internet provides us, there are just as many nefarious people doing their own perverse things on the web.  Either way, while I respect Law Enforcement to go after the child predators (and encourage them as well), I don’t necessarily think any restrictions should be placed on the net as a whole. 

I wouldn’t agree with several countries coming together to restrict the net.  I also vehemently disagree with nations such as China restricting access to the web to their citizens.  Accessing information and being able to voice an opinion are fundamental human rights that all humans should have.

I think it would be a worthwhile goal for a country such as the United States to pressure nations like China into allowing their citizens free access on the web.  These people should be allowed to speak out against their communist government whether or not the government wants for it to happen.

Rambo

I just saw this last night, and I have to admit, this movie is the height of what America is all about: obscene levels of violence (lets just keep sex out of the public eye, it’s bad, mmkay?).  The movie was entertaining, and I laughed about how over-the-top it was, but one thing does concern me.  This is one of the first times I can recall seeing kids killed on screen en masse.  300 had that one scene where Leonidas beat the tar out of the other kid, but that is kids vs kids, guys running around blowing them away with a machine gun is a shade different.

Overall, it was a good movie, but that one thing could have been left out and still shown an obscene amount of violence to prove the point that genocide is bad.

Introduction

Hello and welcome to Der Ring des Nybling, an obvious play on the famous work of Richard Wagner (if you need clarity, Wikipedia provides it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagner). 

Over the course of however long it lasts, I will use this as a starting point to opinionate on a numerous topics ranging from politics to gaming.

 Lets use this first opportunity to discuss gaming.  Over on the nerfbat.com forums, I have been in a debate regarding whether or not companies should create official forums.  The debate is raging on here: http://www.nerfbat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=362.  No sense in rehashing everything out here, but I do firmly believe having official forums helps adds another layer of customer service and relations and that is something that really makes a difference in retaining players.